The present invention relates to a mooring system for mooring a buoyant case at a preselected depth, and more particularly to a mooring system for underwater mines.
Marine mines and other marine devices are launched from airborne platforms, submarines or surface ships. The physical limitation of each type of launch facility limits the overall weight and size of a combined anchor, mine and mooring mechanism. It is thus evident that a reliable, compact and lightweight mooring mechanism will permit either a greater amount of ordnance to be carried on each individual mine, thus increasing the effectiveness of the mine, or a greater number of mines or other marine devices to be carried and launched from the launching facility, thus increasing the effectiveness of the launching facility.
Prior art mooring systems include devices wherein a plummet line serves to position the mine a fixed distance below the surface. The anchor is equipped with a hydrostatic gripper which is set to actuate when the plummet line strikes the ocean floor causing the anchor to grip the mooring line and pull the mine down to a predetermined depth.
Devices have also been proposed in which a hydrostat is attached to the mooring line near the buoyant case so as to form a bight in the line which is not subject to the tension created by the anchor. As the anchor descends and reaches a set depth the hydrostat is actuated by the increased water pressure which causes the bight in the mooring line to be released. The momentary release of tension on the mooring line acts as a signal to a drum to cease further payout of the mooring line.
Other devices have been proposed whereby the entire buoyant case and anchor sink to the ocean floor and the case is then released to ascend to the selected depth. A hydrostat attached to the case senses the selected depth and signals the mooring line drum on the anchor to cease payout of the mooring line.